Helios Investment Partners in its sale of a minority stake in Interswitch to TA Associates. Helios Investment Partners remains the majority shareholder following the transaction.

Capital Group Private Markets, part of Capital Group, in its acquisition of a 35% interest in Tsebo, the leading Pan-African facilities services company.

Helios Investment Partners in a subsequent investment in MallforAfrica, a Nigerian e-commerce company.

A private equity fund in the subscription of subordinated convertible promissory notes in a Cayman Islands incorporated company which operates an energy business in Africa.

Helios Investment Partners and its investment vehicle Samba Luxco Sarl in the settlement of claims made in an ICC Arbitration regarding Samba's stake in Africatel BV. The settlement involved reducing Samba’s stake in Africatel BV from 25% to 14%, and the transfer from Africatel BV to Samba of a 34% stake in Mobile Telecommunications Limited, the Namibian telecoms operator.

Opportunity International in its sale of a majority stake in Kinshasa, a microfinance institution operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to VisionFund International.

Prudential Financial in its $350 million partnership with LeapFrog Investments, targeting investments in life insurance companies in Africa.

HarbourVest Partners in its investment, as part of a consortium of new investors, in a follow-on capital raise by a private equity-owned telecom tower company in Africa with broad geographical coverage over the continent.

Helios Investment Partners in its minority investment in Wananchi Group as part of a $130 million investment from Helios and existing shareholders.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in its acquisition of up to a 49% stake in NYSE-listed CHC Group, the world's largest commercial helicopter operator with an enterprise value of $1.9 billion.

Helios Investment Partners in the acquisition by Helios Towers Africa of 3,100 telecommunications towers, located throughout Africa, from Bharti Airtel.

A consortium including HarbourVest Partners and Coller Capital, in their secondary purchase of interests in Absa Capital Private Equity Fund I from Barclays Africa Group, formerly known as Absa Capital, as part of a spin-out of Absa Capital Private Equity from the Absa Group.

Helios Investment Partners in its investment in MallforAfrica, a Nigerian e-commerce company.

Capital International Global Emerging Markets Private Equity Fund in its purchase of a minority interest in Mobile Systems International Holdings B.V.

The Carlyle Group in fund and tax structuring advice relating to its $210 million acquisition of a minority interest in Export Trading Group.

Helios Investment Partners in the acquisition of a controlling stake in Interswitch, Nigeria’s largest electronic transaction switching and payment processing service provider, from several Nigerian banks.

Merrill Lynch, as financial advisor to Dimension Data Holdings plc, in the company's $376 million acquisition of Proxicom.

A Ripplewood-led consortium in its purchase of a minority interest in The Commercial Bank of Egypt.

Ripplewood, Eton Park and RHJ International in the sale of their minority interest in Commercial International Bank to Actis.

South Africa Capital Growth Fund in its proposed investment, as part of a consortium, in privatizations of airports in South Africa.

The acquisition of a strategic stake in a major Algerian state-owned company.

Joint Ventures

Helios Investment Partners in the formation of a joint-venture with GBfoods targeting the African fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, creating one of Africa's largest FMCG groups, operating in 30 African countries, including leadership positions in Nigeria and Ghana.

Eutelsat in a partnership initiative to provide data connectivity to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Phelps Dodge in its joint-venture with Dynatec to evaluate development of the Ambatovy nickel deposit in Madagascar, and in its sale of its 47% interest in the Ambatovy nickel deposit in Madagascar to its joint-venture partner Dynatec in exchange for an interest in Dynatec.

A joint venture party on its joint venture agreements in respect of a diamond mining project in Angola.

An investor in the formation of a joint venture with Societe Nationale des Tabacs d’Algerie for the manufacturing and distribution of cigarettes of international brands in Algeria.

Projects

Korea Heavy Industries and Construction, a major Korean industrial company, in a proposed power plant project in Morocco.

Mitsui in its proposed development of a phosphate manufacturing facility in Morocco.

World Bank on the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project.

Sponsors on financing the construction of a pipeline between Mozambique and South Africa.

Sponsors of a project for the expansion of a port in Nigeria.

Sponsors on a concession agreement for the expansion of a container terminal in the Onne Free Zone, Nigeria.

Fund Formation

The Carlyle Group in the formation of Carlyle MENA Partners, a $500 million Middle East and North Africa buyout fund.

The Carlyle Group in the formation of Carlyle Sub-Saharan Africa Fund, a $698 million Sub-Saharan Africa fund.

Zephyr Management in the formation of Pan-African Investment Partners, a $150 million Africa buyout fund.

Zephyr Management in the formation of South Africa Capital Growth Fund, a $125 million South Africa buyout fund.

Banff Resources as sponsor of the Kasese Cobalt Mining Project in Uganda.

UBS on a secured loan facility for Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines.

International Disputes

A U.S.-based natural resources company in an ICC arbitration against an African State-owned entity relating to the sale of shares in a holding company with significant assets in an African country.

Royal Dutch Shell and The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria in the successful dismissal of claims in the English Court of Appeal regarding alleged oil spills in Ogoniland. Lord Goldsmith QC represented the client as advocate during the High Court and Court of Appeal hearings on the case.

A major London-based mining company and its African subsidiary, one of the largest mining and metals companies in Africa, in four parallel LCIA arbitrations relating to a $500 million dispute with a major contractor over short delivery and other alleged breaches of a contract for mining services at an open cast copper mine in Southern Africa.

A Canadian mining group in a dispute with the government of an African country, concerning claims of breach of the tax stabilisation and other provisions of an agreement for the operation of a copper treatment facility, and an expropriation of certain of the mining company’s rights.

A leading natural resources group in its criminal investigation by the SFO into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption relating to the activities of the company or its subsidiaries in Kazakhstan and Africa.

Exxon Mobil Development Company and its subsidiary Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria in challenging the constitution and jurisdiction of a tribunal in arbitration proceedings.

An international mining group in its ongoing tax dispute in the context of development agreements with the Government of Zambia.

Arbitration work relating to an off-shore oil project off the coast of the Côte d'Ivoire and a case against Gabon for payment of consultants' fees.

Phillip Morris in connection with its business in Africa.

Ad hoc arbitration relating to a dispute arising from the construction of a brewery in North Africa.

ICC arbitration relating to a dispute in the region of $100 million arising out of the installation of an extensive telecommunications and Data Control System in North Africa.

The Government of Ghana against claims brought by Telekom Malaysia Berhad for over US $150 million in an arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules pursuant to the Malaysia – Ghana BIT. The case settled amicably after final hearings.

A Highly Active Presence in the Middle East and Africa
Debevoise has a successful track record advising international clients as well as local clients undertaking transformational projects or facing business-critical disputes.

Debevoise works with clients taking their first steps into the Middle East and Africa, from making a greenfield investment, structuring a new regionally focused fund, or creating new joint ventures with local partners.

The Middle East and Africa team is led by a group of senior partners with particular experience in investments, joint ventures, projects, complex commercial contracts, compliance matters and disputes. The team has advised a range of clients in these areas, including major financial institutions, private equity firms, international strategic investors, governments, sovereign wealth funds and local corporates.

The firm has been particularly active in private equity, advising on numerous headline acquisitions as well as on the formation of Middle East and Africa-focused funds. The team includes recognized industry leaders, many of whom take active roles in prominent private equity trade associations. These include the Legal & Regulatory Committee of the African Private Equity & Venture Capital Association and the Legal & Regulatory Council of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association.

The firm’s arbitration and litigation practices also have experience in the region acting in high-profile disputes, compliance diligence, investigative work and investment protection claims, often cross-border in nature.